Richmond man slammed with robbery convictions by Charles City jury

A Richmond man who claimed he had no knowledge of a robbery attempt was convicted by a jury Friday evening in Charles City.

It took a panel of eight men and four women only 20 minutes to find Michael DeVaughan Gordon, 41, of the 500 block of Deter Road, guilty on three counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony, two counts of robbery, and one count each of abduction and shooting into an occupied building.

On Feb. 16, 2018, Newsome Green was working on his vehicle outside his home on Little Elam Road during the late evening hours and took it for a short drive to test it out. During his drive, a young relative, who was at Green’s home at the time, contacted him and asked to travel with him. Green made a U-turn and pulled up into his yard.

As Green stepped out the car, an unknown van pulled up quickly in his driveway and close to his home. As Green walked towards the van to see who it was, two individuals got out of the passenger’s side and ordered him to the ground with one person pointing a gun. The one pointing the gun, who would be identified later as Gordon, grabbed Green by the throat and held the gun to his head. According to Green’s testimony, he was escorted to the front door and told the young relative to open the door. When it opened, the young relative was holding a shotgun and pointing it at the intruder. The robber told the relative to hand the gun over or else Green would be killed. As the relative did, Green slipped the grasp of Gordon and slammed the door and bolted around a corner while the relative fled to another room. As the two did, a gunshot went through the room and the defendant and accomplice fled back to the van with the shotgun.

Green made his way to the bedroom and looked outside the window. He saw the two individuals attempting to push the van that had gotten stuck. Eventually, the bulky individual, identified as co-defendant Ahmad Amir Hutchins, 22, of the 9800 block of Tunstall Road, New Kent, attempted to take Green’s vehicle, but that had gotten stuck as well. Green and his relative made their way downstairs and saw three individuals fleeing the scene as sirens rang in the background. That third individual was identified as Alexis Adisha Wells-Elliott.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Todd Duval questioned Green on how he knew about each of the robbers and who they were.

“When they jumped out the van, the tall one ordered me to the ground,” the victim testified. “I didn’t see the other one.”

“But you can’t definitively say that my client [Gordon] was the man who did it?” Duval retorted, saying how the perpetrator was wearing a mask and there was a possible fourth suspect (identified as “J”) with a build similar of Gordon who was with the group.

“I just don’t know,” Green responded. “I saw the gun and went to the ground.”

Meanwhile, the young relative testified, saying that he was sure that Gordon was the individual that held Green hostage.

“I saw a skinny guy pointing a gun at Green,” the relative testified. “The other was a chubby guy with dreads and was standing by the van.”

The key description that was pointed out by the young relative was that he noticed a small patch of gray on the intruder’s beard and a short haircut.

When it came to the background of the robbery, Hutchins took the stand and said that Gordon knew about the plan.

“He [Gordon] picked up me and Alexis to go pick up some cocaine in Richmond,” Hutchins said. “That’s when Alexis got hit up to do a trick [prostitution] with the guy in Charles City.

“While we were driving, she said that she didn’t want to trick him and wanted to rob him instead,” Hutchins continued. “We sat in the roundabout at the end of the road and Alexis said she didn’t want to knock on the door because she didn’t want to get linked to it.”

The person that Wells intended to rob was one of Green’s cousins who stayed at his home at the time. When the group noticed Green’s car pulling out his yard, they followed it and when it did a U-turn at the church, they continued to follow it and pulled into the driveway and that’s where the incident went down. When the robbery failed, Hutchins said the group split and ran off into the woods their separate ways.

An investigation began after authorities were notified. Registration on the van came back to Gordon’s mother, while identification for Wells-Elliott was discovered in the van. Meanwhile, an SUV that had shown up at the scene of the crime was driven by Hutchins’ sister. She informed officers that Hutchins had asked her to pick him up but was now at his mother’s house. Hutchins was brought back to the crime scene where he was identified as the stout defendant. Meanwhile, Charles City Deputy Scott Greene stopped by Adkins Store during the early morning hours and advised clerks that if they saw anyone with muddy clothing and fit the description of either Wells-Elliott or Gordon to call them immediately. Around 7:30 a.m., that call came in and Gordon was apprehended. In Gordon’s possession was a firearm that was linked with a bullet found in the couch inside of Green’s home.
Gordon testified on his behalf, saying that Hutchins was the culprit who committed the robbery and held Green hostage and that he was only transporting the group.

“I was asked to take them to Charles City in exchange for weed and gas,” the defendant said. “When I pulled in the driveway, Alexis started to get out the vehicle and that’s when Ahmad and Jay jumped out the van and ordered Green to the ground.”

Gordon continued, testifying that a gun he usually kept in the center console of the van was missing. After witnessing the crime, he attempted to back up the van and that’s when it got stuck. When the group split, Gordon said he went to sleep in the woods.

“I didn’t get out the van to commit a robbery,” the defendant adamantly said. “I brought Alexis to Charles City to turn a trick and get some weed.”

However, Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Tyler cross-examined the defendant, asking him why he didn’t go to the police if he was innocent.

“You’re saying that you didn’t do these crimes, but you sat there for minutes and watched it happen?” Tyler asked. “Then you said you fled the scene and while you were in the woods you didn’t think of going to the police and telling them what happened because you weren’t involved?”

Gordon responded, saying that he grew up in the hood and never went to the police a day in his life. The defendant concluded by saying he carried a gun because of his job in Southside Richmond and always had it in the console.

But after final arguments, the jury left and returned 20 minutes later with guilty verdicts on all of the charges lodged against Gordon. The jury also recommended a sentence of 28 years in prison, with 25 of those years being mandatory time to be served. Formal sentencing is scheduled for April 5.

Hutchins accepted a plea deal during an Aug. 2018 trial to one count of robbery and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 25. Wells-Elliott agreed to terms of a plea deal to a single count of robbery and is scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 11.